AN: Updated- In regards to the memory scene. Added more fighting to justify the curse.

- Chapter 2 -

The room went silent with all eyes on Remus. He shifted nervously.

“No, absolutely not!” Ron shouted as he stood, knocking his chair over in the process.

Tonks stood quickly and shut the door to the meeting room.

“That’s not happening, Remus. No way,” Harry said shaking his head at the older man.

“I knew you would react this way, but we do need an Auror in the circle. Hermione hasn’t been with us long and I think we could easily have her ‘placed’ in another department so that they don’t know she’s one of us.”

Harry was still shaking his head and Ron was red with fury.

“No. No, I won’t let her,” Harry said firmly.

Hermione stood abruptly and angrily; her chair rolled off behind her and bounced against the wall. She looked at Ron and Harry flabbergasted.

“I’m a grown woman. I can make my own decisions, Harry,” she said in a low, menacing voice.

Though he had long before grown larger than the woman he’d known so long, the look in her eyes at that moment scared him. He knew for certain that her bite was worse than her bark, which wasn’t nice in itself. He slowly sunk back into his seat and shifted his eyes to the table.

She turned her attention to Ron.

“I feel the same way, Hermione. I won’t let you go even if I have to Imperius you myself to stop you.”

Hermione’s eyes flashed in anger and she looked to Lupin, before glaring at Ron again.

“Give me the details, Remus. I think I’m up for it.” Her voice was steady and dark as she held Ron’s gaze.

She had never fully forgiven him. She said she forgave him and she tried to go back to the way they had always been, friends, but she had never forgotten. She would never forget, and because of that, she couldn’t fully forgive.

After graduating from Hogwarts, Hermione and Ron had become serious, steady. They lived together in a flat in London while Harry and Ron took part in the Death Eater hunts and Hermione attended university. Hermione expected Ron to propose but she was left waiting. After three years, it finally happened. Her world shattered.

She came home early from class; her finals week was upon her and all her professors cut classes short. She walked into their flat. There, on her sofa, sat Ron and Lavender Brown snogging away.

She had frozen at the door, unable to move any further. She dropped her bag of books causing a loud thump. The two shot apart and fearfully looked to where the noise had come from.

Ron rose slowly off the couch, his eyes never leaving Hermione’s.

She was hurt and angry; she wanted to Avada Kedavra the both of them in that moment but she wouldn’t. He had just ripped her heart from her chest but she still loved him.

“Ron?” Hermione asked in a quiet hurt voice. She stared at the two of them in stunned silence; her mind didn’t want to process what she had just seen.

“It’s not what it looks like, Hermione, I swear.” He held both his hands up as if to show his innocence.

Her heart was pounding in her ears and she couldn’t think properly. The walls had closed in on her, the world was falling out from under her. Every breath felt like knives piercing her chest.

And then the tears came. They started slowly, one fat tear trailed down her cheek and she angrily brushed it away. She didn’t want to cry over him. Not this time. He didn’t deserve her tears.

She stepped away from the door.

“Lavender get out. Now.”

The other girl looked imploringly at Ron, who nodded at her to leave. She bent over, retrieving her purse and a black bra.

Hermione’s guts rolled over and the anger threatened to spew forth from her like the flames from a Hungarian Horntail.

“Don’t worry, you can come back tomorrow, he’s all yours,” Hermione said coldly as Lavender scooted by her and out the door.

Ron’s eyes widened as he processed Hermione’s words. Understanding flooded his mind; he might really lose her this time. He quickly tried to make amends.

“Hermione, please, it was a mistake. I didn’t mean for it to happen, honest,” Ron pleaded with her.

She held up a hand to stop his pathetic excuses.

“Hermione…I love you. I want to be with you, only you.”

The anger was burning; she didn’t know how long she could hold it in. Two more fat tears escaped her eyes, tears of pain and fury.

“Get out, Ron.”

“Hermione, we should talk about this. We can work out it out. I know you can forgive me.”

Her fingers twitched on her wand.

“How dare you. You have no right to ask for my forgiveness. Get. Out.”

He had crossed the living room and stood five feet in front of her. His arms were outstretched like he was going to hold her.

“Ron, don’t touch me. Get the hell out.”

“Please, Hermione. I love you so much.”

“Ron!”

“You love me don’t you? Don’t you? We can fix it. We can make it work…please.”

He was begging. He was actually begging her.

“I’m leaving, Ron, this time for good. You’ve had too many chances as is. It’s over.”

“No.”

“This isn’t debatable. I’m not staying with you, end of story. It’s. Over.”

“No…please.”

“Get the fuck out, Ron!” The rage was rising; she’d blow at any moment. She was becoming volatile, a walking volcano of wrath.

“Hermione…” now tears were rolling down his face. He looked pathetic. He was pathetic.

“I need time to pack and I don’t want to look at you right now, I don’t want to speak to you right now. If you don’t go, you’re going to make me doing something I don’t want to do, Ron. Leave.”

“No. I won’t go. I won’t let you go, Hermione. I love you so much. I’ve always loved you.” He took a step towards her.

“Ron, I’m warning you... leave.”

“No.”

She looked up from the floor and raised her wand.

His eyes widened in fear. She wouldn’t really kill him would she? His mind was racing, picturing the green flash flying towards him. Maybe she wanted to hurt him now, the torture curse.

In the seconds between when she raised her had and spoke the words, he had started all out sobbing, picturing his imminent death.

“Imperio,” she said with her wand aimed at her now ex-lover. Her eyes were shadowed by her angry scowl. Her voice was deep and terrifying.

Before he could even comprehend what she had done, the euphoria engulfed him. He’d Avada himself if she told him to. It was so wonderful to float along, so happy, so peaceful.

She instructed him out of the apartment and into the lift, down to the lobby. When he reached the front desk, his eyes were glazed. He had been completely helpless to free himself of the spell; Hermione’s wrath was far too strong for him.

She released the spell and sealed the front door. It hadn’t been three minutes before he was pounding on the door and screaming at her to let him in and talk to him. She packed quickly and floo’d to Harry’s.

She never looked back.

Ron’s choice of words had triggered that painful memory, “I won’t let you go even if I have to Imperius you myself to stop you”, and sealed her fate.

Harry glared at Ron; he was sure, if Ron hadn’t spoken, he could have talked her out of it. Of course, Harry knew what had transpired the night Hermione had used an Unforgivable and he knew the effect Ron’s words had had on her. Ron pushed her over the cliff and there would be no saving her now.

Hermione left the table with one last scathing look at Ron. She learned not even two weeks ago that Ron and Lavender were engaged.

Ron’s eyes looked moist as he watched her enter Lupin’s office.

He still loved her. He would always love her. He’d really fucked things up good. She barely spoke to him now. She never looked at him like she used to. And after everything, he still cared about her, as a lover, as a girlfriend, as a sister. She was his Hermione. No one deserved her. He certainly didn’t, but Malfoy? That git was the last person on the planet worthy of her; no- rats were more deserving than Malfoy.

He’d lost her; he could accept that, he could live with it. But he’d never expected her to walk, willingly, into the arms of Malfoy, of all people. She’d be marrying him.

In the wizarding world, marriage was a very serious binding, unlike in the Muggle world, where people could marry and divorce as often as they liked. In the wizarding world, you made sure you wanted to be with the person you married. Without a good reason, you were bound, unable to divorce, stuck for life; literally, ‘till death do we part.

Ron thought of him and Lavender, there was a girl he would rather not be bound to for life, but she was pregnant now and his responsibility.

Ron’s heart ached at the thought of Hermione being tied to Malfoy forever, having his children, walking amongst Death Eaters. She’d be Hermione Malfoy.